...and then:
The IMF said the United States remains at the epicenter of the crisis, and it said it now expected the U.S. economy to contract 2.8 percent this year. It said while there were signs the U.S. recession might be easing, a recovery was unlikely to take hold until next year, which would leave 2010 gross domestic product flat.
If the IMF is simply pointing out the relatively obvious: that the world and U.S. economies will continue to contract for the next 7 months, it really makes me wonder why the US market averages have been going straight up since March 10th 2009. Seems like some investors are in denial, having convinced themselves that the markets already "hit bottom," and have come back in, thinking that the markets can make another completely fanciful recovery like they did after the .bomb in 2001-2. If the IMF is right, it seems there will have to be another "correction."